It is important to remember not to skip straight to form 7. The initial forms need to be utilized in conjunction with form 7-11.

That said, Form 8 is the Functional Learning Media Checklist. This form is applicable to children with developmental disabilities, and evaluates the classroom as well. The form looks at functional academics, or functional skill areas.

Form 9: Indicators of Readiness for a Functional Literacy Program, "attends to and responds meaningfully when others read; anticipates activities and events; differentiates sounds or spoken words, gestures, or signs." A wider range of literacy approaches is added here. It involves using pictures and objects, and trying to assess the child's readiness.

From 9 is a good tool, and is generally under-utilized throughout the country. Tom Miller states: "...for a lot of the kids that you see, and the fact that the growing population of children we see are children with multiple disabilities, I think that this section should become more widely used and more important over time."

Form 10: Initial Selection of Functional Literacy Medium, is tied to function.

Form 11: Continuing Assessment of Functional Literacy Media is not as academically involved, but encourages the fact that literacy goes beyond just print and Braille.

The materials in this section appeared on the e-advisor site, which was originally hosted by Boston Children's Hospital. This material has now been moved to the website of Perkins School for the Blind.

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